As the European Parliament voted in favour of a law to ban single-use throwaway plastics, Maltese MEPs were in strong voice about the need to promote alternatives.

Labour MEP Miriam Dalli urged the EU and member states to promote alternatives to plastic, such as edible cutlery. She also called for the incentivisation of upcycling, whereby plastic waste is transformed into new materials, a clear example being Adidas’ ocean plastic sports shows.

“A truck full of plastic gets dumped into our seas every minute and this rate is set to increase to two truck full by 2030,” she said. “This new law is an important step in the right direction, a clear example of policy that helps change mentalities and foster a sense of conscience among citizens.”

“We must now build on this momentum and complement the work that is being done by private companies, environmental NGOs, youths, children and political parties.”

Nationalist MEP Roberta Metsola said that while new legislation is all well and good, change must ultimately start from individuals.

“The impact of small decisions can be enormous,” she said. “Imagine if instead of the usual plastic bags we still see everywhere, we use boxes or cloth; or if we stopped purchasing products covered in excessive, unnecessary, plastic packaging; or if instead of throwing away a disposable cup every time we have a coffee we use re-usable flasks; if instead of the usual plastic straws we give our children paper straws or ones made out of bamboo.”

“My point is that small, almost unnoticeable, differences in our lifestyles could make a massive difference. It simply cannot wait longer.”

Meanwhile, fellow PN MEP Francis Zammit Dimech urged the Maltese government to put its money where its mouth is and stop distributing fruit and vegetables to schools in single-use plastic containers.

“As an island Malta is duty bound to do more,” he said. “Our islands are surrounded by the sea, an important resource for our economy and our lifestyle. Meanwhile 80% of waste that ends up at sea is plastic. We need to do our part and increase the fight against single use plastic. This requires a culture change.”

Meanwhile, Nationalist MEP Francis Zammit Dimech urged the Maltese government to put its money where its mouth is and stop distributing fruit and vegetables to schools in single-use plastic containers

“As an island, Malta is duty bound to do more,” he said. “Our islands are surrounded by the sea, an important resource for our economy and our lifestyle. Meanwhile 80% of waste that ends up at sea is plastic. We need to do our part and increase the fight against single use plastic. This requires a culture change.”

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Tim Diacono

Tim is interested in the rapid evolution of human society and is passionate about justice, human rights and cutting-edge political debates. You can follow him on Instagram or Twitter/X at @timdiacono or reach out to him at [email protected]